But Antibiotics Save Lives!!!

David Wolfe, a health, eco, nutrition and natural beauty expert (more information about him can be found HERE) posted the picture above on facebook.  He has more than 1,200,000 facebook followers and I greatly appreciate his help in spreading the word about the dangers of fluoroquinolones!  Many people commented on picture and told their story of how fluoroquinolones hurt them.  There are a lot of us out there, and the more the word gets spread, the more likely change is.

As always, there were some nay-sayers.  Honestly, there were a lot more people sharing their stories than there were nay-sayers, and I’m not suggesting that we all gang up on them, but I have some thoughts about the some of the nay-saying comments.  Here are some examples of the nay-saying comments:

“Want to go back to the dark ages before antibiotics?”

“If we didn’t have antibiotics…alot of people would die..”

“People who don’t believe in medicine should live on their own island of ignorance and watch their life expectancy drop to that of their intelligence.”

“Without antibiotics you can’t treat people with bacterial infections. Aka ur screwed. Pls don’t mislead the public. stick to quotes. My sincere request. Please.”

“Antibiotics have saved over 1 billion lives. Mr Wolfe’s irresponsible comments will cause deaths!!”

“WAIT! Are you trying to scare people off antibiotics now??? How many people would have to die of preventable illnesses before you retract this?”

Sigh.  Why do these people think that all antibiotics are the same?  Why do they think that all antibiotics are safe?  Why do they think that warning people about the dangers of fluoroquinolones equates to being anti-antibiotic?  Where is the grey area?  Can’t some antibiotics be appropriate for use in some circumstances but not others?  Can’t different antibiotics have different safety profiles?  Isn’t information about the dangers of drugs valuable so that people can make informed choices?  Doesn’t it matter that fluoroquinolones damage nerves, the musculoskeletal system, the eyes and kidneys?  Can’t that information lead to greater consumer knowledge and informed consent when fluoroquinolones are prescribed?  Can’t the dangers of fluoroquinolones be acknowledged without being “anti-antibiotic?”  Can’t we fight for prudent and appropriate use of all antibiotics (especially FQs) without negating the lives that have been saved by antibiotics (including FQs)?  GREY AREA, folks!  The world isn’t black and white.  Sigh.

A quote from my most recent post, “‘The 21st Century Cures Act’ Is On Its Way – Here’s Why You Haven’t Heard About It” seemed like an appropriate response to a lot of the nay-sayers.  Feel free to use this if you want it:

“A healthy and balanced microbiome (“the ecological community of commensal, symbiotic and pathogenic microorganisms that literally share our body space”) is crucial for all areas of health, and a disturbed microbiome has been linked to all of the diseases of modernity, including mental health disorders, neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn’s disease, mysterious diseases like fibromyalgia, autism, etc. And while there is acknowledgement of the role that a healthy microbiome plays in these diseases, researchers and journalists alike have been loath to acknowledge the role antibiotics have played in contributing to these diseases of modernity. No one wants to be anti-antibiotic. Everyone knows that antibiotics have saved millions of lives, but that doesn’t mean they are without consequences. And the good that penicillin has done doesn’t mean that all antibiotics are equally safe or effective. I can make a pretty thorough argument that fluoroquinolone antibiotics, like Cipro/ciprofloxacin and Levaquin/levofloxacin, drugs that work by “inhibition of the enzymes topoisomerase II (DNA gyrase) and topoisomerase IV (both Type II topoisomerases), which are required for bacterial DNA replication, transcription, repair, and recombination,” are at least partially responsible for many of the diseases of modernity (more information can be found HERE, HERE and HERE). Fluoroquinolone antibiotics do not have the same safety profile as amoxicillin, and to assume that they do because both are categorized as antibiotics, is foolish on multiple levels.”

That’s my two cents of a response to the people who say things like the quotes above.  Also, quit giving carte blanche to the pharmaceutical companies if they label their dangerous drug as an antibiotic, because that’s just stupid.

Now I’m done.  🙂